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Tears of the Fallen
Warning: Rated "Adult" for safety, due to dark themes and violence. There may also be some bad language. Don't like, don't read. Disclaimer: I don't own Dungeons and Dragons. Tears of the Fallen Chapter One: Beginning ???'s POV It was in the late evening. The sunset was nearing its end, enlighting the distant horizont in a faint magenta. Stars were twinkling, and the moon was now shining in the darkblue nightsky. Every so often a gentle nightbreeze would blow by, causing most of the forest's plantlife to sway along with it, as if in a silent melody. Animals of various kinds could be heard making noises from their respective nests, further adding to the nocturnal beauty. Life seemed to be triving. To anyone who knew how to appreciate nature and all it's inhabitants, this was a truly beautiful sight. Unfortunately, not all beautiful things lasts, and not all living beings are given an easy start on life. This scenario was quickly proven true, when a much louder and much more unwelcoming noise announced it's presence. *CRACK!* The tree first dented, then shattered from the impact, as the hand that hit it easily tore through the bark and further into the core, sending pieces and splinters of wood flying everywhere. But it didn't stop here. It far from did. I wouldn't allow it. Why? I was just too angry. Angry at the world for all the pain and the injustice it brought me. *CRACK!* *BAM!* *CRASH!* Again and again, the hand slammed through the massive plant, and this time the tree clearly didn't hold to it, as it slowly fell through the air until it landed hard on the grass-covered ground, causing small tremors and sending even more wood as well as debris flying in all directions. The animal-life, upon hearing the commotion, quickly scattered, with some hiding wherever they could in the vegetation, while others went into defense mode and looked around them frantically, as if trying to figure out where the annoying sound originated from. However, if one thougt the sound of a large crashing tree was annoying, then the sound that was about to come next, was definitely going to be a nightmare come true for everyone to hear. Actually, this was exactly what I had hoped it would be. A nightmare. A bad dream that no matter how bad it was, would never last forever. Until a week or so ago, I had always been able to wake up, only to find myself lying in a bed, scared out of my mind, but so relieved at the same time. Simply because it was never real. But now it seems I have run out of luck, per usual. Strange, isn't it? Maybe I just never had any luck to begin with. Is that why everyone around me always either dies or keeps betraying me? It doesn't matter in which order it happens. They are all going to die one way or another, regardless of what choice they make. Now that I think about it, I probably don't have a choice in the matter, either. Its pretty simple, really. If they betray my trust just so they can torment me later, then they are going to feel my wrath for all it is worth. But should they ever try to truly befriend me, as small as that chance is...as in standing up for me whenever I was being tormented and vulnerable. As in cormforting me whenever I felt down in the dumps. As in playing and spending time with me so I wouldn't get lonely or bored. As in being honest with me and never tell any lies...the list goes on. But perhaps most importantly...was the wilingness to stay loyal. The wilingness to never run away and abadon me. The wilingness...to defend and protect me, even if doing so would come at a terrible price. Yes, you guessed it already. If people weren't openly against me, then they were believed to be with me, and for that so-called "sin" they would be executed, neutral or not. Not by me, but at the hands of the very people who despised me. And as if this wasn't bad enough, they would also make sure that those who sided with me would be killed very slowly, rather than granting them a quick and painless death. All because I was a little bit different. Then I screamed. I screamed, I screamed, and I screamed some more. And not just any kind of scream. But a loud, howling, and wailing kind of scream, that I was absolutely positive could be heard miles away from where I was standing. Not that I cared anyway. I was far too caught up in my own rage and grief to even notice if anyone heard me. One thing was for sure, though; the animals didn't waste any time in getting out of here. Not as much as a second. But the reason that I even started screaming like this was not due to physical pain. No, the pain I felt was something else, something far more excruaiting. What I felt was emotional agony. The pain of betrayal and the loss that followed with it. Rage, grief, hatred, confusion...even disgust. That kind of agony. It didn't even hurt when I started smashing that tree to pieces with my own two bare hands in a fit of rage. Not by a long shot. And even if it did hurt...then I wouldn't care. Not that I actually could care if I wanted to, anyway. My body was probably already so numb and sore from all the travling that I had been forcing it to go through as of lately, it wouldn't make a difference anyway. But just because it didn't hurt, that didn't mean I would get any less angry at the world around me. I finally stopped screaming. The whole forest fell into a dreadful silence. I was still shaking and quivering all over after my sudden emotional outburst. I collapsed on the ground in a state of exhaustion, breathing heavily, only to slowly rise back up again. Then I slowly started walking. One careful trembling step at a time. Adrealine flooded through my veins, threatning to send my blood to the boiling point, while my heart furiously tumped against my ribcage. I stared off into the distance, a vicious snarl escaping my lips as I did so. And so I continued walking, dimly wondering what I was going to do next. I was still contemplating my next course of action, when a loud rumbling noise started resonating in the air, snapping me out of my strain of thoughts. At first I panicked, worrying if some angry animal had been trying to sneak up on me as revenge for the ear-piercing shriek I had made not too long ago. The sound, however, was not coming from any sort of animal, but from my own stomach. Which reminded me just how hungry...and how thirsty...I had become right now. How long had it been since I ate or drank, let alone have a proper meal? Then, my eyes started dropping, my bodily movements slowing down a little. I was also starting to feel so very tired. It was getting late. One hour or two later, and the forested terrain I was standing in would be plunged into darkness. Some food and water, plus a good long nights sleep didn't really seem like such a bad idea at the time. Forcing my eyelids open and speeding up the pace with renewed motivation, it was settled then. "Better go find something to eat, I guess. No use in starving. I should also find a safe place to sleep. Tomorrow I will be on the move again, as always." As these thoughts ran through my mind, I carefully moved further into the foreboding forest, head turning and twisting, eyes looking and searching for anything edible. Truth be told, that was way easier said than done. Ground was carved out, bushes were searched, and trees were climbed, the latter with much fear and hesistation. I always had a fear of heights. That didn't stop me from trying, though. But alas, I never found anything. I even investigated the tree that I trashed earlier. Tore off bark, searched branches, and checked the roots. No such luck. I hissed and snarled, cursing mentally. "Iryana damnit!" *CRASH!* I angrily gave the tree a solid kick, easily sending it rolling and tumbling, shattering it in the process. I sighed. "I ''STILL haven't found anything."'' I thought grimly. "Not even a single berry or edible herb. Or a mushroom." I turned around, and dusted myself off´in irritation, removing the large clumps of debris and dirt that had become stuck on my body. So much for trying. Then I lifted my head and focused my gaze to the nightsky. The Sun was now completely gone, being concealed from view in the horizont. In it's place was the Moon, accompanied by thousands upons thousands of stars glowing and twinkling ever so beautifully in different colors. Midnight had truly come. I had already traversed most of the forest that I had considered myself fortunate enough to reach about a day ago. But I had yet to see any foodsource. Even worse, I had already wasted so much precious energy. "Maybe I'll have more luck with finding water." I thought hopefully. "I'm so thirsty." But searching for equally precious water only turned out to be just as daunting a task, if not exhausting. Despite doing my damnest to find and gather any drinkable liquid in this good-for-nothing forest, I was still just so utterly hopeless at this chore, like I always had been. Strong or not. Fast or not. Unique or not. None of this bullshit meant anything to me. All it had ever meant, so far I was concerned, was that not only did this make me more even likely to overexert myself more than my body could readily handle, it also marked me as an potential source of insane mass-destruction - and killing. Massive devastation, that although sometimes well-deserved, if not tempting, could also easily backfire, maybe even kill me, if I wasn't careful. Add the fact that I was still relatively young and remained trapped in a ball of boiling turmoil and despair, and we are only just slowly nearing the distant base of the mountain. I was still wandering aimlessy through the woods, moving and pushing any branches out of my way, the green grass making a soft crunching sound with each single step that I took, when I suddenly came upon a large field, almost stumbling over some bushes as I now almost left the forest behind me. Placing my right hand on a nearby tree while leaning on to it for support, the exhaustion started to get the better of me yet once again. My knees began to buckle, first mildly, then serverly, causing me to slide down hard against the tree until I finally collapsed on the ground in a defeated heap. Now I was beginning to lose hope. "So this is it, huh? Is this how it's all going to end? Am I going to die?" Pathetic. So very, very pathetic. So unfit and unworthy, it sounded like a joke. A very, very cruel joke. But then again, it was only to be expected, right? After all, when you are on your own outside in the middle of nowhere, with no idea how to make your way through this unforgiving world, things like this is bound to happen. Hunger clawed furiously at my stomach, the latter practically begging me for something to eat. My throat felt dry and sore from the near-total lack of water, almost unbearably so. My mind swam with dizziness, spinning the world around me and blurring my already fading vision. I brought one hand up in front my mouth in a attempt to stiffle a loud yawn. Did I forget to mention that I was also becoming so incredibly sleepy? I guess that's no surprise really, seeing how I haven't been able to get even a remotely decent nights sleep for a whole week now. Said sleepiness threatened to dominate for control, tempting me to give in to it's sweet embrace. I just struggled to stay awake. A nightbreeze blew by, making me shiver ever so slightly. "Great." I thought sourly. "Now I'm also getting cold. Can this get any worse?" Undoubtly, it could. One hand, this time my left, found it's way to my chest...and was meet by a very unpleaseant discovery. I could feel my own ribs. I had lost weight. Too much weight, in fact. I groaned inwardly. "That's just 'fucking' briliant." At this rate I wasn't really sure just how much longer I would be able to survive in this weakned state. To sum all this up, I was starved, dehydrated and sleep-and-rest-deprivated. Death now seemed like a likely event. "Guess it's only a matter of time now. I thought bitterly. Which was true, sadly.